The People's Liberation Army of China (PLA; Chinese: ) is the armed

forces of China under the leadership of the Communist Party (CPC). August 1 is celebrated annually
as Chinese Workers and Farmers Red Army Day. The PLA consists of four professional service
branches: the Ground Force, the Navy, the Air Force and the Second Artillery Corps. The PLA is the
world's largest military force, with a strength of approximately 2,285,000 personnel, 0.18% of the
country's population. September 3, 2015, paramount leader Xi Jinping announced that he would
reduce the countrys military personnel by 300,000. [6] The PLA's insigniaconsists of a roundel with a
red star bearing the Chinese characters for Eight One, referring to August 1(Chinese: ).
The PLA is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the CPC. Following the
principle ofcivilian control of the military, the commander in chief is the President of China.
The Ministry of National Defense, which operates under the State Council, does not exercise any
authority over the PLA and is far less powerful than the CMC.[citation needed] A system of political officers
embedded within the military assures party authority over the armed forces, so that the primary role
of the Ministry of Defense is that of a liaison office with foreign militaries. The political and military
leadership have made a concerted effort to create a professional military force restricted to national
defense and to the provision of assistance in domestic economic constructionand emergency relief.
This conception of the role of the PLA requires the promotion of specialized officers who can
understand modern weaponry and handle combined arms operations. Troops around the country are
stationed in seven military regions and more than 20 military districts.
Military service is compulsory by law; however, compulsory military service in China has never been
enforced due to large numbers of volunteers from China's population. In times of national
emergency, the People's Armed Police and the People's Liberation Army Militia act as a reserve and
support element for the PLA, primarily for the People's Liberation Army Ground Force.

Formation and Second Sino-Japanese War[edit]

Further information: Second Sino-Japanese War
The People's Liberation Army was founded on 1 August 1927 during the Nanchang Uprising when
troops of theKuomintang (KMT) rebelled under the leadership of Zhu De, He Long, Ye
Jianying and Zhou Enlai shortly after the end of the first KuomintangCommunist alliance. They
were then known as the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army(simplified Chinese:
; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhnggu Gngnng hngjn), or simply the Red
Army. Between 1934 and 1935, the Red Army survived several campaigns led against it by
GeneralissimoChiang Kai-Shek and engaged in the Long March.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, the Communist military forces were
nominally integrated into the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China forming

the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Armyunits. During this time, these two military groups
primarily used guerrilla warfare, fought a few battles with the Japanese while consolidating their
ground by annexing nationalist troops and paramilitary forces behind the Japanese lines. After the
end of the Sino-Japanese War, the Communist Party merged the two military groups and renamed
the multi-million-strong force the "People's Liberation Army" and eventually won the Chinese Civil
War. A number of military regionswere established in 1949. On 11 November 1949, the Air Force
leadership structure was established and the Navy leadership the following April. In 1950, the
leadership structures of the artillery, armored troops, air defense troops, public security forces, and
workersoldier militias were also established. The chemical warfare defense forces, the railroad
forces, the communications forces, and the second artillery, as well as other forces, were established
later.

1950s, 60s and 70s[edit]

Further information: Korean War, Sino-Indian War and Sino-Soviet border conflict

The PLA enters Beijing, Chinese Civil War, 1949

Chinese troops leaving North Koreain 1958

During the 1950s, the PLA with Soviet help transformed itself from a peasant army into a modern
one.[8] Part of this process was the reorganisation that created thirteen military regions in 1955. The
PLA also contained many National Revolutionary Army units and Generals who had defected to the
PLA. Ma Hongbin and his son Ma Dunjing (19061972) were the only two Muslim Generals who led
a Muslim unit, the 81st corps to ever serve in the PLA. Han Youwen, a Salar Muslim General, also
defected to the PLA. In November 1950, the PLA or People's Volunteer Army intervened in

the Korean War as United Nations forces under General Douglas MacArthur approached the Yalu
River. Under the weight of this offensive, Chinese forces drove MacArthur's forces out of North
Korea and captured Seoul, but were subsequently pushed back south of Pyongyang north of
the 38th Parallel. That war also served as a catalyst for the rapid modernization of the PLAAF. In
1962, the PLA also fought India in the Sino-Indian War successfully neutralizing Indian defenses and
achieving all objectives.
Prior to the Cultural Revolution, military region commanders tended to remain in post for long
periods. As the PLA took a stronger role in politics, this began to be seen as something of a threat to
party (or, at least, civilian) control of the gun. The longest-serving military region commanders
were Xu Shiyou in the Nanjing Military Region (195474), Yang Dezhi in theJinan Military
Region (195874), Chen Xilian in the Shenyang Military Region (195973), and Han Xianchu in
the Fuzhou Military Region (196074). Establishment of a professional military force equipped with
modern weapons and doctrine was the last of the Four Modernizations announced by Zhou Enlai
and supported by Deng Xiaoping. In keeping with Deng's mandate to reform, the PLA has
demobilized millions of men and women since 1978 and has introduced modern methods in such
areas as recruitment and manpower, strategy, and education and training. In 1979, the PLA
fought Vietnam over a border skirmish in the Sino-Vietnamese War where both sides claimed victory.
During the Sino-Soviet split, strained relations between China and Soviet Russia resulted in bloody
border clashes and mutual backing of the opponents' enemies. China and Afghanistan had neutral
relations with each other during the King's rule. When the pro-Soviet Afghan Communists seized
power in Afghanistan in 1978, relations between China and the Afghan communists quickly turned
hostile. The Afghan pro-Soviet communists supported China's enemies in Vietnam and blamed
China for supporting Afghan anti-communist militants. China responded to the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan by supporting the Afghan Mujahideen and ramping up their military presence near
Afghanistan in Xinjiang. China acquired military equipment from the United States to defend itself
from Soviet attack.[9]
The People's Liberation Army trained and supported the Afghan Mujahidin during the Soviet war in
Afghanistan. China moved its training camps for the mujahideen from Pakistan into China itself.
Hundreds of millions worth of anti aircraft missiles, rocket launchers and machine guns were given to
the Mujahidin by the Chinese. Chinese military advisors and army troops were present with the
Mujahidin during training.[10]

onwards to 1980s[edit]
In the 1980s, China shrunk its military considerably to free up resources for economic development,
resulting in the relative decline in resources devoted to the PLA. Following the PLA's suppression of
the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, ideological correctness was temporarily revived as the
dominant theme in Chinese military affairs. Reform and modernization have today resumed their

position as the PLA's priority objectives, although the armed forces' political loyalty to the CPC has
remained a leading concern. Another area of concern to the political leadership was the PLA's
involvement in civilian economic activities. These activities were thought to have impacted PLA
readiness and has led the political leadership to attempt to divest the PLA from its non-military
business interests.
Beginning in the 1980s, the PLA tried to transform itself from a land-based power, centred on a vast
ground force, to a smaller, mobile, high-tech one capable of mounting operations beyond its borders.
The motivation for this was that a massive land invasion by Russia was no longer seen as a major
threat, and the new threats to China are seen to be a declaration of independence by Taiwan,
possibly with assistance from the United States, or a confrontation over the Spratly Islands. In 1985,
under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the CMC, the
PLA changed from being constantly prepared to "hit early, strike hard and to fight a nuclear war" to
developing the military in an era of peace. The PLA reoriented itself to modernization, improving its
fighting ability, and to become a world-class force. Deng Xiaoping stressed that the PLA needed to
focus more on quality rather than on quantity. The decision of the Chinese government in 1985 to
reduce the size of the military by one million was completed by 1987. Staffing in military leadership
was cut by about 50 percent. During the Ninth Five Year Plan (19962000) the PLA was reduced by
a further 500,000. The PLA had also been expected to be reduced by another 200,000 by 2005. The
PLA has focused on increasing mechanization and informatization so as to be able to fight a highintensity war.[11]
Contingent from the People's Liberation Army during the Moscow Victory Day Parade, 9 May 2015

Former CMC Chairman Jiang Zemin in 1990 called on the military to "meet political standards, be
militarily competent, have a good working style, adhere strictly to discipline, and provide vigorous
logistic support" (Chinese:
; pinyin: bdu yo zu do zhngzh hg, jnsh guyng, zufng yuling, jl ynmng,
bozhng yul).[12] The 1991 Gulf War provided the Chinese leadership with a stark realization that
the PLA was an over-sized, obsolescent force. The possibility of a militarized Japan has also been a
continuous concern to the Chinese leadership since the late 1990s. In addition, China's military
leadership has been reacting to and learning from the successes and failures of the American
military during the Kosovo War, the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and
the Iraqi insurgency. All these lessons inspired China to transform the PLA from a military based on
quantity to one based on quality. Chairman Jiang Zemin officially made a "Revolution in Military
Affairs" (RMA) part of the official national military strategy in 1993 in order to modernize the Chinese
armed forces. A goal of the RMA is to transform the PLA into a force capable of winning what it calls
"local wars under high-tech conditions" rather than a massive, numbers-dominated ground-type war.
The Chinese military planners call for short decisive campaigns, limited in both their geographic
scope and their political goals. In contrast to the past, more attention is given to reconnaissance,

mobility, and deep reach. This new vision has shifted resources towards the navy and air force. The
PLA is also actively preparing for space warfare and cyber-warfare.
For the past 10 to 20 years, the PLA has acquired some advanced weapons systems from Russia,
including Sovremenny class destroyers, Sukhoi Su-27 andSukhoi Su-30 aircraft, and Kiloclass diesel-electric submarines. It has also completed several new destroyers and frigates including
2 AAW Type 052C class guided missile destroyers. In addition, the PLAAF has built an indigenous J10 fighter aircraft. The PLA launched the new Jin class nuclear submarines on 3 December 2004
capable of launching nuclear warheads that could strike targets across the Pacific Ocean.

Peacekeeping operations[edit]
The People's Republic of China has sent the PLA to various hotspots as part of China's role as a
prominent member of the United Nations. Mostly engineers and logistical units, as well as military
police, and members of the paramilitary People's Armed Police have been sent to peacekeeping
operations in Lebanon,[13] theRepublic of the Congo,[14] Sudan,[15] Ivory Coast,[16] Haiti,[17] and more
recently, Mali and South Sudan.

Vintage Chinese propagandaposter, showing the PLA. The caption reads, "An Army of the People is Invincible".
The pilot (on top) holds a flagstaff and a copy of Selected Works of Mao Zedong.

Notable events[edit]

19271950: Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang (KMT) as the Chinese Red Army.

19371945: Second Sino-Japanese War, from 1941 part of World War II against the Empire
of Japan.

1949: Yangtze incident (the battle against British warships on the Yangtze river).

19501953: Korean War (Under the banner of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army).

19541955: First Taiwan Strait Crisis.

1958: Second Taiwan Strait Crisis at Quemoy and Matsu.

1962: Sino-Indian War.

1967: Border skirmishes with India.

19651970: Vietnam War.

19691978: Sino-Soviet border conflict.

1974: Battle of the Paracel Islands with Vietnam.

1979: Sino-Vietnamese War.

19791990: Sino-Vietnamese conflicts 19791990.

1988: Johnson South Reef Skirmish with Vietnam.

1989: Enforcement of martial law in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

1990: Baren Township riot.

19951996: Third Taiwan Strait Crisis.

1997: PLA Control of Hong Kong's Military Defense

1999: PLA Control of Macau's Military Defense

2009present: Anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden

2014: Search and rescue efforts for Flight MH370

2014: Peacekeeping operations in Mali

2015: A 700-strong infantry battalion, supported by APCs and drones, is being deployed
in South Sudan under the mandate of UNMISS

Organization[edit]
National military command[edit]
The state military system upholds the principle of the CPC's absolute leadership over the armed
forces. The party and the State jointly established the CMC that carries out the task of supreme
military leadership over the armed forces. The 1954 Constitution stated that the State President
directs the armed forces and made the State President the chair of the Defense Commission (the
Defense Commission is an advisory body, it does not lead the armed forces). On 28 September
1954, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party re-established the CMC as the leader
of the PLA and the armed forces. From that time onward, the system of joint system of party and
state military leadership was established. The Central Committee of the Communist Party leads in all
military affairs. The State President directs the state military forces and the development of the
military forces managed by the State Council.
In order to ensure the absolute leadership of the Communist Party over the armed forces, every
level of party committee in the military forces implements the principles of democratic centralism, the
divisions and higher levels establish political commissars and political organizations, and ensures
that the branch organizations are in line. These systems melded the party organization with the
military organization in order to achieve the party's leadership and administrative leadership. This is
the key guarantee to the absolute leadership of the party over the military.
In October 2014 the PLA Daily reminded readers of the Gutian Congress, which stipulated the basic
principle of the Party controlling the military, and called for vigilance as "[f]oreign hostile forces
preach the nationalization and de-politicization of the military, attempting to muddle our minds and
drag our military out from under the Party's flag."[18]

Military leadership[edit]
The leadership by the CPC is a fundamental principle of the Chinese military command system. The
PLA reports not to the State Council but rather to two Central Military Commissions, one belonging
to the state and one belonging to the party.
In practice, the two central military commissions do not conflict each other because their
membership is usually identical. Often, the only difference in membership between the two occurs
for a few months every five years, during the period between a party congress, when Party CMC
membership changes, and the next ensuing National People's Congress, when the state CMC
changes. The CMC carries out its responsibilities according to the authority given to it by the
Constitution and National Defense Law.[19]
The leadership of each type of military force is under the leadership and management of the
corresponding part of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party Central
Committee. Forces under each military branch or force such as the subordinate forces, academies

and schools, scientific research and engineering institutions, logistical support organizations, are
also under the leadership of the CMC. This arrangement has been especially useful as China over
the past several decades has moved increasingly towards military organizations composed of forces
from more than one military branch. In September 1982, in order to meet the needs of modernization
and to improve coordination in the command of forces including multiple service branches and to
strengthen unified command of the military, the CMC ordered that the leadership organization of the
various military branches be abolished. The PLA now has air force, navy and second artillery
leadership organs.
In 1986, the People's Armed Forces Department, except in some border regions, was placed under
the joint leadership of the PLA and the local authorities. Although the local party organizations paid
close attention to the People's Armed Forces Department, as a result of some practical problems,
the CMC decided that after 1 April 1996, the People's Armed Forces Department will be once again
be under the PLA.
China's former Minister of National Defense Gen. Liang Guanglie answers a question during a joint press
conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in 2012.

According to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the CMC is composed of the
following: the Chairman; the Vice-Chairmen; and Members. The Chairman of the Central Military
Commission has overall responsibility for the commission.
Chairman:

Xi Jinping (also General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party)

Vice Chairmen:

General Fan Changlong

General Xu Qiliang

Members:

Minister of National Defense General Chang Wanquan

Chief of General Staff General Fang Fenghui

Director of the PLA General Political Department General Zhang Yang

Director of the PLA General Logistics Department General Zhao Keshi

Director of the PLA General Armaments Department General Zhang Youxia

Commander of the PLA Navy Admiral Wu Shengli

Commander of the PLA Air Force General Ma Xiaotian

Commander of the Second Artillery Corps General Wei Fenghe

Central Military Commission[edit]

In December 1982, the fifth National People's Congress revised the state constitution to provide that
the State Central Military Commission leads all the armed forces of the state. The chair of the State
CMC is chosen and removed by the full NPC while the other members are chosen by the NPC
standing committee. However, the CMC of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
remained the party organization that directly leads the military and all the other armed forces.
In actual practice, the party CMC, after consultation with the democratic parties, proposes the names
of the State CMC members of the NPC so that these people after going through the legal processes
can be elected by the NPC to the State Central Military Commission. That is to say, that the CMC of
the Central Committee and the CMC of the State are one group and one organization. However,
looking at it organizationally, these two CMCs are subordinate to two different systems the party
system and the State system. Therefore, the armed forces are under the absolute leadership of the
Communist Party and are also the armed forces of the state. This is unique joint leadership system
reflects the origin of the PLA as the military branch of the Communist Party. It only became the
national military when the People's Republic was established in 1949.
By convention, the chairman and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission are civilian
members of the Communist Party of China, but they are not necessarily the heads of the civilian
government. Both Jiang Zemin and Deng Xiaoping retained the office of chairman even after
relinquishing their other positions. All of the other members of the CMC are uniformed active military
officials. Unlike other nations, the Minister of National Defense is not the head of the military, but is
usually a vice chairman of the CMC.
In 2012, in order to attempt to reduce the corruption at the highest levels of the Chinese military, the
commission banned the service of alcohol at military receptions.[20]

PLA general headquarters[edit]

The PLA general headquarters are composed of the following departments:

General Staff Department (GSD)

General Political Department (GPD)

General Logistics Department (GLD)

General Armaments Department (GAD) (sometimes translated as General Equipment

Department).

The GPD maintains a system of political commissars which maintain a separate chain of command
to ensure loyalty to the party and the civilian government. The CMC exercises leadership over
the military regions, the Navy and the Air Force and the Second Artillery through the four general
departments.
Within a military region, the three service branches are coordinated in the battle operations under
the unified command of the military district. The Second Artillery is however under the direct
leadership of the CMC. The army units in a military region are under the leadership of that military
region. The navy and air force troops in a military region are under the joint leadership of the military
region and their service branch.....

Military regions[edit]

PLA military regions (1996)

Further information: PLA Military Region

Under the General Staff Headquarters are the seven military regions:

Shenyang Military Region

Beijing Military Region

Lanzhou Military Region

Jinan Military Region

Nanjing Military Region

Guangzhou Military Region

Chengdu Military Region

The PLA garrisons in Hong Kong and Macau are both under the administration of the Guangzhou
MR.
Coordination with civilian national security groups such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is achieved
primarily by the leading groups of the Communist Party of China. Particularly important are the
leading groups on foreign affairs, including Taiwan.
The PLA is planning to reduce the number of military regions from seven to five "military areas" to
have joint command with ground, naval, air, and second artillery corps forces. This is planned to
change their concept of operations from primarily ground-oriented to mobile and coordinated
movement of all services. The coastal Jinan, Nanjing, and Guangzhou regions will be retained and
turned into military areas and the four other inland military regions will be streamlined into two
military areas mainly for organizing forces for operations. The change will occur over the next five
years